CAKE ON THE BRAIN

BEST EVER QUINOA CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!

2012-02-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Best Ever Quinoa Chocolate Cupcakes...Gluten Free!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This recipe has been adapted from a layer cake from the Quinoa 365 cookbook (which for me didn't work out very well initially). I was determined to tweak baking times and procedure because the cake held promise. You will require 2 cups of cooked quinoa. This is best done with quinoa that is not over-cooked. Mine was cold; straight from the refrigerator.

I purchased my quinoa from Costco. It's organic and you don't have to rinse it...but I do anyways. I also used a rice-cooker to cook my quinoa. The original recipe calls for 2/3 cups uncooked quinoa and then it tells you to cook it (leaving you leftover quinoa to store away). I made 1 whole cup of uncooked quinoa and this allowed for more leftovers (so I can make something else with it).

My first attempt with the quinoa chocolate layer cake resulted in squidginess. It was kind of wet and not too pretty but I knew that the flavour was good. No soapy quinoa flavour detected. Good thing.

My cupcakes were lined with jumbo (or large) cupcake liners. The recipe yields 12 cupcakes. I used my Vitamix to blend the quinoa and all the batter ingredients together. Then I filled the liners with the batter. The batter was just enough for the the jumbo liners. They were filled more than 3/4 full.

The cupcakes looked and smelled promisingly chocolatey in the oven. They puffed up and then when taken out they fell a bit. However, they tested clean with a cake tester. No crumbs. I baked the cakes for 30 minutes and they came out perfectly. Not squidgy!

Unlike the layer cake, the cupcakes are sturdier and the crumb isn't wet. It is super moist and not a note of quinoa is detected. My daughters didn't even know there was quinoa in it. They didn't think it was gluten free. Not a speck of flour was required in the recipe. In fact, you could probably make it dairy free by substituting the milk with coconut milk and coconut butter. I think that the eggs are pretty important for the structure though. I have no idea if egg substitute would work because we're okay with eggs and I probably will never attempt it. If you try it and it works, let me know!

The recipe calls for 1 cup of cocoa powder. I imagine that lends quite a bit of structure and flavour to the cake. Don't skimp here. Get good cocoa powder. I have used Callebaut.

The Quinoa Chocolate Cupcakes do not require frosting. They are scrumptiously moist without it. I sent one to school for Bebe's recess snack. When I asked her how it was after school, she said it was so yummy! I told her it was gluten free and she said it sure didn't taste like it!

Can you imagine a chocolate cupcake that's moist, healthy with all the goodness of quinoa and doesn't require a frosting? I inhaled my cupcake and encourage you to try this excellent reincarnation of the quinoa chocolate cake recipe. I'm never going to go back to making it in layers. This rocks with a glass of cold milk too!

Now, I had to bling these babies up for Valentine's Day for my loved ones. I made chocolate lace hearts on parchment paper. I grabbed a bar of Lindt Dark Chocolate (70%), microwaved to melt it in a custard cup and made a parchment cone to free-hand drizzle some hearts. I let them set and them wedged them in a little dollop of buttercream atop the cupcakes. I encourage you to top these with the Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream from HERE.

If you like dragées, use them for sparkle. I personally don't like their crunch. My daughters love all sprinkles and go crazy with them. To each her own.

I thought this particular ivory white dragée made the cupcake look so elegant. It might even make a good Wedding Cupcake! Imagine a Celiac Bride/Groom who could finally eat their own wedding cake worry-free?

I haven't had such a good cupcake since my most popular post THE BEST CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES EVER. Even when I don't post anything, people still seem to land on that old post and I still get lots of commenters telling me how yummy it is.

Well, this Quinoa Chocolate Cupcake is in contention to beat out that recipe. In fact, I think it's better. It's faster to whip up (in a food processor or blender), it's cheaper (uses cocoa powder) and it's moister. Above all, it's healthier because it doesn't use white wheat flour; but it has all the goodness of the extra protein from the quinoa and it tastes amazing.

I'm very excited to have you try this recipe as cupcakes. Try it and let me know what you think. Will this quinoa chocolate cupcake knock the liners off my popular go-to chocolate cupcake recipe using regular flour? I'm converted. How about you?

BEST EVER QUINOA CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

adapted from Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood

Makes 12 large scrumptious cupcakes

2 cups cooked quinoa, cold (see note below for instructions to cook quinoa)
1/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cups butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

*1 muffin tin (large cups, large cupcake liners) with 12 wells.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with the 12 large-sized cupcake liners.
In a Vitamix, Blender of Food Processor, combine: milk, eggs, vanilla. Blend until combined. Add 2 cups of cold cooked quinoa and the melted butter and continue to blend until smooth.
Dump in the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the Vitamix. Blend well to combine.
Pour from the blender directly into the cupcake liners, evenly distributing the cupcake batter between the 12 liners. Gently tap the tin on the counter to ensure there are no air bubbles. Smooth the tops with a small spatula (or your finger!)
Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 30 minutes.
Test the cupcakes for doneness with a toothpick or cake tester.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a rack.
Frost if desired with Swiss Meringue Buttercream using a 1M Wilton tip. Decorate with the chocolate lace hearts (see post above for the easy method I used). Bling it up with dragees if desired.
Cupcakes can be stored sealed in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month. But I don't think they'll last that long.

Note: Bring 2/3 cup raw, rinsed white or golden quinoa to boil in a heavy saucepan with 1 1/3 cups water. Cover, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered saucepan on burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and allow the Quinoa to cool.

Rice Cooker Method: Cook rinsed quinoa as you would rice, following manufacturer's instructions and the indicator lines for appropriate water levels. I made 1 cup quinoa and found it had enough leftovers to make another dish.

EBLESKIVER STUFFED WITH BANANAS

2012-02-12T09:22:00.000-08:00

Pronounced "able-skeevers", this Danish treat is a cross between a pancake and a popover. They are cute and fun to eat. You can stuff them with anything. Today I stuffed mine with ripe banana chunks and served them with a dusting of confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and whipped cream.

I used the gluten free pancake mix from Bob's Red Mills. You need to use two skewers to turn the batter in the wells to make them round. I used two chopsticks to turn the batter as it cooked in the ebleskiver wells.

I found the ebleskivers more filling than they looked. The girls could only eat one and I barely managed to stuff 3 down.

I think that the ebleskiver pan shows good promise as a takoyaki pan. I'll have to try it soon with something savoury! I purchased my pan from Williams Sonoma and have only used it twice. I now recall the previous time I made them that we overdosed on them and that's why I haven't made them in a while. Next time, I need to make a smaller batch!

COCONUT-VANILLA RICE PUDDING BRULEE

2012-02-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

Coconut-Vanilla Rice Pudding...Brûlée

Any rice will do for your pudding. I used Jasmine because that's what I had on hand.

This recipe for rice pudding just happens to be Gluten Free and Dairy Free. I used canned coconut milk (Aroy-D Brand). Make sure you stir up the coconut milk in the can before measuring out. The recipe has so few ingredients and is super easy! You can make these ahead, you can leave off the sugaring process entirely and just eat it plain. You can also eat it cold or warm. Just nuke individual servings in the microwave (make sure you cover the pudding in the microwave or it may explode like it did in my oven! eep! rice pudding explosion! don't say I didn't warn you!)

Sprinkle a layer of organic evaporated cane sugar over your rice pudding. Make sure your container is oven-proof!

Ready your blow torch (you can do several at a time on the top rack of your oven and use the broiler)

Brûlée your sugar.

Check. Did you miss any spots? you can add some more sugar and torch those areas again...

COCONUT-VANILLA RICE PUDDING BRULEE

1/2 cup rice [I used Jasmine, but a short or medium grain will be creamier]
1/4 cup sugar [I used organic evaporated cane sugar. If you like it sweet, use up to 1/2 cup sugar]
2 cups coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract [I used vanilla bean paste]

In a large heavy saucepan, cover rice with water and bring to a boil [I used 1 1/2 cups of water]
Reduce and simmer on low heat, covered for 15 minutes.
Add sugar, coconut milk and vanilla extract. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Stir until excess liquid has evaporated.
Distribute the rice pudding in ovenproof individual ramekins. [You can make these ahead up to this point and store covered in the refrigerator]
Sprinkle extra cane sugar [granulated will do] until you cover the entire surface of the pudding.
Either brûlée your pudding tops with a torch or broil in the oven until golden brown.
Serve immediately.

Espresso-spiked Banana Bundt Cake

2012-02-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Banana Bundt Cake

My NordicWare Bundt Pan

Banana Bundt love...gluten free too!

ESPRESSO-SPIKED BANANA BUNDT CAKE

adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Classic Banana Bundt Cake" from Baking: From My Home to Yours

[Cakebrain's note: I tossed in a shot of freshly brewed hot espresso into the batter for a lovely flavour]

For my favourite Gluten Free Flour blend recipe, check out my post here.

3 cups GF flour blend (or all purpose flour, as in Greenspan's original recipe)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large organic free range eggs, room temperature
approximately 4 very ripe bananas, pureed (1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream
one shot freshly brewed espresso

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan. [I sprayed my Nordicware bundt pan with Pam.]
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (the mixture will look curdled — just keep mixing), all the sour cream, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Toss in the shot of hot espresso. Mix until well blended. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to de-bubble the batter, and smooth the top.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. [mine took 75 minutes] Check the cake after about 30 minutes, if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding on the rack to cool to room temp.
If you have the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving — it’s better the second day.
Because my adaptation of the cake is gluten free, it should be refrigerated. It will keep well in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for several days. You can warm up slices in the microwave for a few seconds or allow the slices come to room temperature before serving. This bundt would freeze well too.

CAKEBRAIN’S NEW WHITE KITCHEN

2012-01-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy Day! Cakebrain’s Kitchen Reno is complete!
Join me for a personal tour...

Today I moved the last of the glassware into my cupboards. I was surprised at how long it took me to wash and move things back in. I purged some items and donated them along the way.

Let's start the tour of my brand new kitchen. I’ll even let you look in some of my cupboards and drawers!

My marble counter feels wonderful. It’s a honed Statuario Marble.

Everything tastes better cooked on the Wolf Range! See that copper pot on the range? A few years back I travelled to France all by myself and toured Normandy, the Alsace region and practically half of France that summer staying with friends and relatives of my lifelong friends V & P (V is a penpal I have been corresponding with since high school!) I purchased the copper pot in a little town in Normandy called Villedieu-les-Poêles that specialized in making these heavy duty gems! It’s got a Mauviel Villedieu stamp on it.

This information is from the Mauviel site: “In a Normandy village called Villedieu-les-Poêles, which is located near the Mont-Saint-Michel, Mr. Ernest Mauviel established the Mauviel manufacturing company.

Villedieu-les-Poêles, “the city of copper”, has an 800 year heritage of copper manufacturing. The strength and foundation for Mauviel's manufacturing expertise is based upon this rich tradition of copper manufacturing that has been handed down from generation to generation.

Since the very early years, by offering the highest quality products, Mauviel has been a fixture in the professional and commercial markets.

Today, Mauviel continues to offer the professional chef, products that are unsurpassed in quality and design. These same products are now also available to household markets.

Throughout the world Mauviel products are used by many famous chefs and professionals. With 1,000 products, Mauviel offers several ranges of high quality products made from copper, stainless steel or aluminum. Each range is crafted with elegant style and is designed to meet the needs of the most discerning professional and household cooks.

All ranges of Mauviel cookware products bring performance and pleasure to successful chefs, and to all those who aspire to become chefs.”

I lugged that copper pot in my luggage all through France, by myself (along with a backpack and carry-on) as I travelled the Paris underground. No elevators or escalators…c’est dommage! I heaved the luggage above my head onto the trains, the subways and all sorts of transportation on the continent and in England until it came back with me to Vancouver. Now it has a lovely little spot on my new range and I am loving using it. It’s one heavy sucker.

Friendly French men would stop mid-stride as they saw me lugging my stuff and ask me if I needed assistance. Ça va? they would ask…and I smiled, nodded and replied Ça va. merci! This happened more often than I could count. I must have looked like a mule (and obviously I was just as stubborn as one as I was determined to get that pot back to Canada!) One day, remind me to take a picture of my special bowls…purchased in a little village in France and made by some nuns from the convent nearby.

The lighting under the cabinets casts a lovely glow and highlights the glass mosaic tile backsplash. I am very happy with the backsplash. It’s a nice contrast to the all-white kitchen.

I didn’t decide on my cabinet and drawer pulls until the last minute. In the end, these pulls from Richelieu were perfect as they went well with the Sub-Zero handle and the Wolf oven handle.

These are “blum” drawers. The cabinets all have a “soft-touch closure”. So you can’t slam them hard even if you wanted to. A good thing since I have kids.

Stomach insisted on buying a new pot. He wanted a 4qt All-Clad. I told him to buy the steamer insert for it too since we always steam veggies.

The flowers in the foreground on the marble island have lilies in them. I detest the smell of lilies and was clipping off all the stamens from the centres that I could find. But the sickly sweet smell still lingered in the air. The flowers are my mom’s…for her bday; so what could I do? generally my girls and Stomach know not to buy me lilies for me or I’ll have a fit.

The Le Mans corner unit. I have two corners with these units. This is way too cool! It swings in an “S” pattern so you can access everything easily.

Couldn’t figure out where to put my KitchenAid. This seemed as good a place as any.

The roll-top drain board on my Franke sink has been proving to be extremely useful. I love it. The stainless steel faucet is locally made by Valley Acrylic and is all ceramic inside. Supposedly, most faucets are plastic inside. Ceramic is supposed to last longer.

I had to buy a new bread bin because having all those piles of bread on the counter just wasn’t looking so great. We purchased this one from Williams Sonoma on Granville St.

In the corner is my Gaggia Titanium. Aaaah! Finally I can have espressos again! Next to it is my Penguin Soda Charger. I drink an inordinate amount of club soda everyday. All I do is use the Co2 cartridge to inject bubbles into plain ol’ filtered Vancouver tap water. I like it plain but I can add syrups like Cola, Gingerale and whatever the heck I want to, to taste. I’ve saved myself a lot of $ and dealing with empty Perrier and San Pellegrino bottles. I drank tons of club soda too. All the empty cans are a distant memory.

This SubZero fridge is the price of a small domestic vehicle. It apparently has an air filter and water filter in it that helps with ensuring no icky smells develop inside. As well, this helps preserve the freshness of veggies and other foods. So far, it has proven to actually do that. I buy Costco bags of veggies and they are still fresh looking though they’ve been in there for 2 weeks.

My kids have been drinking more water because the fridge has easy access for water and ice on the door. I like the convenience of the ice maker and love my soda water ice cold. It’s a good thing.

Here’s a view of the Wolf microwave oven and oven.

Above the microwave is storage for my sheet pans and bakeware. Really handy-dandy. Love it!

Here’s my new pantry. The mechanism inside slides everything out as you open the door so you can reach things in the back easily.

Here’s the pantry door opening up to show you all my goodies. As you can see, the shelves on the door are stationary but as you open the door, the shelves on the left slide move out as you open.

These shallow shelves are under my island. The other side has cupboards. I use the shallow shelves for easy access to all my cake decorating junk. As you can see I have a lot of cake decorating paraphernalia. Actually, I have another area of my home dedicated to storing all my other cake decorating tools, bakeware and whatnot. It all didn’t fit into my kitchen believe it or not.

Look closely at my shallow shelves. See those metal grommets lined all the way up inside my cabinet? Those are for the adjustable shelves. There are little stainless steel pegs that fit in them and support the shelving. I was pleasantly surprised that Chris, my cabinet maker had added this detail.

It's raining outside...

I intend to start baking again very shortly. There’s still a 4mm depth of construction dust all over my house. See me back in February for a reinvigorated baking fervor! I might even post savoury foods now that I have better light in my kitchen for taking photos! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my new kitchen!

My contractor: Will McPhail from McPhail Renovations
Counters: Marble Art
Cabinets: Build Momentum
Franke Sink: Save More
Stainless Steel Faucet: Valley Acrylic
Appliances (Wolf range, oven, microwave, SubZero fridge, Ventahood): from Colony Home Furnishings

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:14:00.001-08:00

Best wishes for Health, Happiness and Wealth in the New Year!

GF CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2011-12-28T17:01:00.001-08:00

GF Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Yes, I’m baking again! whooohooo!

Unfortunately, the kitchen reno is not complete, but we have a working kitchen: the refrigerator, microwave and oven are in and working. However, cupboard doors, grouting of the backsplash and several miscellaneous things need to be done…

I have been buying e-cookbooks on my ipad and Kindle. It’s certainly not the same but for all my GF cookbooks, I feel it’s more economical. Besides, GF cookbooks don’t exactly have fabulous photography. Most are not coffee-table worthy unlike some of my other cookbooks. So, e-reader format is okay by me.

This GF cookie recipe is the first batch of cookies to be made in my new kitchen. yah. I couldn’t wait to bake so I jumped the gun before the reno was finished. Ah well.

The recipe I used was from Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking. The Artisanal GF flour blend consists of: brown rice flour, potato starch, potato flour, cornstarch, xanthum gum, and sorghum flour. I kept the rest of the blend in an airtight container.

The cookie dough came together quickly; even though I didn’t use the mixer. I wanted to mix it by hand and keep cleanup to a minimum. Besides, I couldn’t find half my kitchen supplies as they are still all over the house stuffed in boxes somewhere.

I couldn’t even find my cooling racks; so I allowed them to cool on my new Wolf Range top on the cookie sheets. The kids did not wait for the cookies to cool down and started eating right away (homemade cookie withdrawal)! I think the recipe is decent and doesn’t taste GF. The cookies were crispier and drier than I usually like them. I didn’t get the chewiness I liked. Seeing as I didn’t adapt the recipe, perhaps next time I will fiddle with it to get the texture I like.

E.T.A. of the completed kitchen reveal is mid-January (fingers crossed).

GF CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli & Peter Bronski

1/2 pound (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp GF vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups Artisan GF Flour Mix (or your favourite blend)
2 3/4 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a mixer, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated
Add the flour, xanthum gum, baking soda and salt. Mix until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Using a cookie scoop or a teaspoon, drop dough balls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets (or in batches, if using only one cookie sheet).
Bake for 8-10 minutes [cakebrain’s note: I baked 8 minutes] until lightly golden on top. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

A CHRISTMAS EVE POEM

2011-12-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

photo source

I have been channeling William Carlos Williams today and have written an original poem dedicated to you, my faithful readers and followers. Thank you for sticking with me through my kitchen renos...it seems like forever! In the New Year I envision a reinvigorated energy in my groovy new kitchen. Join me again in January for more food porn and baked goodies. I will unveil my finished kitchen photos in January!

I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve Poem

by Cakebrain from Cake On the Brain

so much depends

upon

a lone butter

cookie

glazed with sweet

icing

beside the crisp

carrot.

KITCHEN RENO FOR CHRISTMAS

2011-12-22T18:43:00.001-08:00

Lots of action on the reno today...my new Wolf range, new Sub-Zero fridge and my old Wolf convection Microwave and convection oven are in! I think I will christen the kitchen with a batch of cookies very soon. Fridge hookup and Ventahood hookup still need to be done so waiting on that...

Chris (left) and Peter (right) from Build Momentum (my cabinet gurus) helping Will McPhail (my contractor) from McPhail Renovations guide the Wolf Oven back into place.

My sexy Wolf Range! love those red knobs!

Even wrapped up in packaging, the Sub-Zero looks good! Hopefully we'll be hooked up and running soon!

KITCHEN RENO: Day 43

2011-12-14T16:35:00.001-08:00

My monster Franke sink is in! Woohoo! Industrial faucet and whisper quiet garburetor are installed too!

KITCHEN RENO

2011-12-10T15:02:00.001-08:00

Countertops are in!

KITCHEN RENO: DAY 30

2011-12-02T09:47:00.001-08:00

Some upper cabinets are in...but the sink and counters come next week! Can't wait!

This is the glass mosaic tile I've chosen for the backsplash!

Kitchen reno Update

2011-11-26T14:38:00.001-08:00

Not much going on right now with the reno...just waiting for the Franke sink to come in from Germany. The island box was recently installed.
Starting to really really miss baking...and we're eating takeout quite a bit! (though eating out is not really a big issue from the norm). I know this is the lull before the storm!

CAKEBRAIN'S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 10

2011-11-11T15:28:00.001-08:00

CAKEBRAIN'S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 9

2011-11-10T16:27:00.001-08:00

Lower cabinets!

CAKEBRAIN'S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 8

2011-11-09T18:23:00.001-08:00

Lower cabinets are in...the room!

CAKEBRAIN'S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 7

2011-11-08T21:00:00.001-08:00

The floors are done! The floors were grouted today. Lower cabinets are coming in tomorrow.

CAKEBRAIN'S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 5

2011-11-06T18:58:00.001-08:00

The porcelain tiles have been laid. Patrik's coming back to finish and grout next day

CAKEBRAIN’S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 4

2011-11-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

Here’s how my kitchen tiles will be laid out.

It’s evening as I take this pic and difficult to see the colour of the tile. It’s essentially white with some grey streaking. The pattern is pretty subtle.

Patrik, the tiler will be in tomorrow morning to finish up the floor and I’ll take a pic after he’s done!

SUIKA, JAPANESE IZAKAYA RESTAURANT

2011-11-05T22:55:00.000-07:00

Deluxe Suika Box: Suika’s Appetizer sampler box.

Yes, it was very good…and appetizing! I had to order the sampler because I love variety! The portion sizes were not too bad...served in little sake cups in a lacquer box. It was a gorgeous presentation.

Negitoro sashimi appetizer. Lots of fresh tuna in a delicious sauce; topped with scallions.

Chicken karaage. Crispy nicely fried moist boneless chicken.

Corn Kakiage: like a corn tempura. My favourite dish of the night! Fresh niblets lightly battered and nicely seasoned...they were so addictive!

Beef Filet fried rice with garlic. Crispy fried garlic slices and tenderloin beef chunks! yum!

Oxtail ramen: my girl loves ramen. The broth is super rich. Definitely nice beefy flavour with chunks of meat throughout.

Matcha Creme Brulee. This is not like a real creme brulee in that it is frozen. It’s like matcha ice cream in texture but cut into it with a spoon...and it's hard because it's frozen! It tastes like matcha creme brulee. Neat! The crunchy brulee is caramelized sugar and there’s a dusting of matcha on the plate.

Pumpkin creme brulee…a seasonal dessert in a tiny single-serving size.

Creamy, pumpkin-y, yummy!

We each had a complimentary frozen grape at the end. The girls scarfed their two grapes down before I could get a shot of all the grapes. Something so simple can be so refreshing!

The bottle chandelier. Cool!

Service was attentive and the atmosphere really neat. The colours were dark and decor was modern and funky. I loved the attention to presentation of the food. I also enjoyed trying all the different menu items and look forward to coming back to try other dishes...like the Chinese poutine. I wasn't in the mood for fusion tonight; maybe next time!

Suika is located on W. Broadway. There is plenty of metered parking out front.

CAKEBRAIN’S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 3

2011-11-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

Fruit and pastry cream filled Danish Twist from Max’s Deli.

Yah. This is how you eat breakfast when you don’t have a kitchen.

Chocolate Croissant

French Butter Croissant

DAY 3 KITCHEN RENO PICS:

Philippe took out the remaining floor tiles and worked on the walls today…

We have radiant heating under the floor.

The colour of the walls will be gray: either BM Fieldstone Gray or MS Bedford Gray. Whatcha think? I’m thinking Benjamin Moore for the quality of the paint.

Here’s a shot of the mantle above my fireplace. Like I said: Every square inch of horizontal space is covered in kitchen innards!

CAKEBRAIN’S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 2

2011-11-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

A view from my dining area into the kitchen.

Note the refrigerator has been dragged into the room. This is a good thing. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to eat much! In the foreground to the right are the appliances that we’re saving to install in the new kitchen.

Almost all the granite tiles have been removed.

The area around the sink (under the window) was mouldy from the leaking faucet and so the drywall is going to be replaced.

The cupboards and kitchen parts are all sitting outside waiting to be picked up and carted off.

Here’s the sink from hell sitting on my deck. It’s cast iron and bloody heavy. The faucet is useless…it was leaking for the last half year and would have cost us a bundle to fix and/ or replace anyway. I am so glad to get rid of this behemoth. I don’t recommend the 3 bowl sinks with the tiny useless triangular bowl in the middle. Whoever thought up this idea doesn’t cook much. Because the faucet is centred in the middle above the shallow tiny middle bowl (where the garburator is located), often the faucet doesn’t reach far enough to the bigger bowls. If you have a pull-out head, you have to drag out the faucet head every time you want to wash something in the bigger bowls and as a result there’s wear and tear on the hose. We’ve had to replace a leaking hose a few times already. I believe this is the third faucet for the lifespan of this particular sink.

CAKEBRAIN’S KITCHEN RENO: BRAINS AND BRAWN

2011-11-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

Employing Brains and Brawn: Will McPhail (right) and Philippe (left)
from McPhail Renovations, Vancouver, B.C.

BEFORE THE RENO PICS:
Just so you know, I had crackers for dinner. My kids subsisted on Halloween Candies, instant noodles and bread.

Nov. 1, 2011…the night before the demolition begins, I have packed away the tons of dishes, food, pans and detritus from my kitchen. Every square inch of horizontal space in my home has kitchen stuff on it. I even managed to squirrel away all my fine crystal wine glasses high up over my fireplace.

These pictures were taken the night before the demo:

This is my kitchen. Yah. Very grey. When we bought our home over 8 years ago, I knew that the granite looked expensive. Someone paid a pretty penny for it. But gads, when you spill something, you can’t see it! I came to curse it as the years passed.

That’s the Sub-Zero fridge on the left that’s broken down several times since we’ve moved in. We’ve had it patched up but it’s on its last legs. I thought they were supposed to last forever. Guess not.

I love my window area but hate the 3-bowl cast iron sink. The garburetor is in the centre. The faucet doesn’t reach the other bowls adequately and when I wash stuff, inevitably the front of my shirt is drenched because the water splashes up the shallow middle sink. Not so practical for big pots and pans either.

That’s a Miele dishwasher. This is relatively new as my old dishwasher broke down the second year we moved in. The hood fan broke down last year. So the Vent-A-Hood you see is practically brand new. Keeping all that new stuff of course.

That horrid range is going and I’ve ordered a Wolf. Red knobs!

The first year we moved in, the microwave broke down and then the oven was too small to roast even a chicken (it was a Jenn Air). I purchased a Wolf Convection Oven (on the bottom) and the Convection Microwave (top) to replace them. These are keepers of course.

This is the counter where I usually do all my baking and prep work. It’s not huge but it’ll do. I will be replacing the island granite with White Marble.

CAKEBRAIN’S KITCHEN RENO: DAY 1...DECONSTRUCTION

I’ve known Will for a long time. He’s a good friend. When he decided to start his own renovation company, McPhail Renovations, I was very happy for him and I kept him in the back of my mind because I knew his attention to detail and even-keeled personality would appease my OCD tendencies if I should need to renovate.

Will is not your typical contractor. I’m not saying other contractors aren’t intelligent, as I’ve only dealt with a handful, but Will is definitely cerebral. This came in quite handy on Day 1 of the Demo when he and his assistant Philippe had to remove the Vent-A-Hood. They were cursing the guy who designed it (and me for choosing it)! Not only was the Vent-A-Hood built like a jet engine, it weighed like one. That, and it didn't help matters that I hadn’t cleaned the icky tacky film on the hood in a couple of weeks or clean the nasty buildup in the trap prior to them removing it! My bad!

Island’s dismantled, top cupboards are down and appliances are out! The appliances are resting on my dining room floor. The refrigerator’s still in there currently.

My dining room table loaded with my kitchen innards.

CANDY CORN HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES: FINAL POST BEFORE MY KITCHEN RENO!

2011-10-31T00:40:00.000-07:00

White Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Classic Buttercream and Candy Corn!

These are the last cupcakes I’ll ever make in my old kitchen! Whee!

I have been so busy lately with work, school and just life. I won’t be baking anything for a while until Christmas at least since we’re undergoing renovations to the kitchen.

I will be taking pictures of the renovation along the way and will post them in my blog instead.

My old kitchen is dark and full of granite. It doesn’t look all that bad, but many of the appliances have kicked the bucket and I have had to replace my oven, dishwasher, microwave and hood fan since moving in over 8 years ago. So I’ll be keeping those relatively new stainless steel appliances and just replacing the rest.

My plan for the new kitchen: ALL WHITE!

island counter will be honed white Carrara marble or Statuario marble (sealed of course)
perimeter counter will be quartz
white cabinets; brushed silver handpulls/knobs
industrial looking faucet in brushed silver
stainless appliances
16 x 16 porcelain tile floors (white/gray)
rectangular glass mosaic backsplash (whites/grays)

Since my kitchen won’t be usable and we’ll be living in the house still, it’ll be chaos. We plan to eat out and eat simply. We have a little old microwave and a bunch of plug-in appliances. We’ll adapt. We live within walking distance of many restaurants, a Safeway, a bunch of bakeries and we have tons of edible things in the pantry…we won’t starve.

However, I won’t be baking for a while. Well, it’s kind of been like that anyway around here hasn’t it been? So sorry if you came looking for cake and just found a bunch of posts of my restaurant reviews. I have lately felt like I’ve lost my baking mojo since being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s.

I think a new kitchen might help alleviate the doldrums and may ignite me into a new baking direction. Yes, I am still gluten free. My GP says if I feel better restricting gluten, I should continue. Besides, it’s healthier. However, having said that, I do not fear gluten (I'm not Celiac) and my kids still eat it. I indulge once in a while with a little bit of gluten; especially if it's cake.

My grad studies? that’s going along okay. I am still only getting 5-6 hours of sleep a night because of the marking from regular work and having to sporadically hand in concept papers to my professors too, but that’s kind of what I knew I’d be getting into.

I’m excited about all the changes going on in my life and I’ll document the DEMO of my old kitchen on the blog through pictures. It’ll be cool I think. It’s almost everything I’ve wanted in a kitchen. Plus, I am at ease with my choices in the design since I’ve been thinking about it for over 8 years. Everything in the kitchen is what I think I’ll be happy with for a long time. It’s all classical colours and the look won’t wane. I am a little worried about the quartz, but for sure I know I want to go away from the granite look. It’s so yesterday. I am tired of how dark it makes my kitchen. I can’t see the crumbs the kids leave on the counters, or the sticky spills they trail until it’s too late.

All you smarty-pants who think you know how marble is porous and it’ll etch... I already know that. Europeans have been using marble for counters for decades. I think I’ll manage. I want it for my island because I do my pastry/baking there. I also will be doing some sealing sporadically (really, it’s just a spray and wipe…how easy is that? I already spray and wipe my current granite counters anyway)

Besides, if you compromise on the look now, you’ll never be truly happy with your kitchen. The white marble will stay. It’ll look great. It’ll be classic.

Don’t many people change kitchens every 20 years anyways? By that time, maybe I might want to change the marble. Or maybe I might still like it. I have a feeling I will still like it. In fact, I’m thinking of using it in the bathrooms too. Maybe Carrara again. Or limestone. Anyway. I’ll have to save up for that all over again.

I’ve been saving up for 8 years for this current kitchen renovation. By next year, we might be working on changing the dining area and the hardwood floors (they’re all banged up engineered hardwood floors). I also want to redo the bathrooms in a few years. Our house is just falling apart! oh, and I hate the curtains. They came with the house. They’re so 90’s.

These Halloween cupcakes were made for my daughter’s Halloween Party at school. They are White Velvet Butter Cupcakes from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Rose’s Heavenly Cakes and the frosting is Classic Buttercream with Vanilla Bean from Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible.

The cupcakes tasted amazing! The buttercream was silky smooth and the flecks of vanilla were nice. The candy corn was something my daughter said everyone in the class should like. I don’t know…I picked mine off. Give me simple cake and buttercream anyday with no sprinkles or candy. Today I popped a mini bite-sized one from the batch (I made 3 sizes of cupcakes) and thought they were so yummy! Tender, moist white crumb made with 3 egg whites made it light…I doubled the recipe and the 6 egg yolks that remained were employed in the Classic Buttercream. I like it when a cupcake is efficient and delicious at the same time!

This is a winner and I’ll make ‘em again for sure when there’s call to make a white cupcake. I would have gone chocolate all the way, but one of the kids in her class doesn’t like chocolate. I think that if you feel so strongly about not liking a food, hey…I’ll accommodate. And I happen to really like this kid because he’s so darn nice! He’s such a neat kid. So this whole batch was made vanilla because of him. I don’t think he knows that but that’s okay. It would be weird if he knew that anyways. Though they’re only 8, I’ve told my daughter that if she ever wants to date a guy, he’ll have to be like this chocolate-hating friend of hers. Not the chocolate-hating part, but the nice part. I think I’m safe for now because she thinks boys are icky and she’s way too cool to be thinking about liking boys anyway.

Stay tuned for some demolition pictures of my kitchen!

Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-10-18T00:35:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving Mini Cheesecakes with Double-duty Cranberry Sauce

Cute Polymer Clay Witch

This polymer clay witch magnet was made by my cousin. This cute figure and many like her (dentists, princesses, snowmen etc.) can be found for sale at her Etsy site. They are hugely adorable and I think they would make great cake-toppers for kids (and adults) to be reused as magnets. They have been coated so frosting/grease won’t penetrate the baked clay figurines and I even washed the chef guy because he had cranberry sauce all over him. The little circular magnets are attached to the back. Check them out HERE at her Etsy site, and click HERE for her blog.

Here’s the Polymer Chef. He had a hand in the cranberry sauce as you can see.

For Thanksgiving dinner, I made cranberry sauce with a bag of cranberries, one cup sugar and one cup water (just like it says on the package!) I love the jewel tones of the berries and the leftover sauce is perfect for topping the mini cheesecakes. I always have tons of cranberry sauce leftover.

After brining my organic turkey, I dried it in the refrigerator overnight. Then I roasted it back side up. Here it is ready to be flipped around breast-side up to finish roasting.

We like tradition around here. I stuff my turkey with plain ol’ bread stuffing.

Here’s the creamed spinach and mushroom.

I roasted some veggies too: brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips and onions.

For the mini cheesecakes, I used this recipe HERE.